Improvement in bit-braces



F. P. PFLEGHAR.

BIT-BRACE. No. 175,151.- Patent ed March 21,1876.

N.PETER8. PNOTQ-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHEGTDN. 0 (L ,UNITED STATES.

PATENT QFFIGE.

FRANK PIPFLEGHAR, or new HAVEN, oonnnc'rrcu'r, ASSIGNOR rro WILLIAM A.'lVES & 00., or SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN BIT-BRACES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 175,151, dated March21, 1876; application filed January 4, 1876.

to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and whichsaid-drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in

Figure 1, side view; Fig. 2, central section Figs; 3, 4, 5, diagramsillustrating the operation.

This invention relates to an improvement in bit-braces, the object beingto adaptthe' brace to a ratchet operation, so that the crank of thebrace may be partially turned, and turn the socket with it, and, thenreturning the crank for a second hold, the socket will remainstationary; and the invention consists in constructing the socket andcrank so that,

- the crank will be free to turn independent of the socket, and with atoothed or ratchet wheel attached to or forming a part of the socket atthe bearing in the crank, combined with a pawl in the crank, madeadjustable to three positions -one to allow the crank to be turnedfreely in one direction and'engage .the

socket in the other; a second to leavethe crank free in the oppositedirection. to the first, and engageaccordingly; and a third which willengage the socket and crank, so-

, that they turn together in both directions, all

as more fullyhereinatterdescribed.

A is the crank of thebrace, and B the socket, which may be ofany of theusual constructions, so as to engage the toolplaeed Within it, and whichis to be turned. The' crank terminates over the socket in a head,

O. In this-head the socket is hung upon a bearing, D, so as to turnfreely therein. The head is slotted transversely, and into thisaratchet, E, is placed, and made fast to the pintle a of the socket; Thisratchet E is formed with square shouldered teeth, as shown in Figs. 3,4, and 5. F is a pawl hung upon a pivot, d, in a vertical recess in thehead of the I crank, and so that the axis of the pivot d is at rightangles to the axis of the socket, and the pawl slotted, so as to have aslight movement on the pivot d, and in rear of the pawl a spring, 6, isarranged, the tendency of which is to force the pawl toward and intoconnection with the-ratchet E. The face of the pawl toward the ratchethas upon it three surfaces, 1 2 3, the surface 1 being that seen in Fig.3, which is beveled, so as to allow the crank to turn freely to theleft, and the pawl escape from notch to-notch in so turning; but whenturned to the right the pawl will engage the notch in the ratchet, asseen in Fig. 3, and cause the socket to turn with the crank. The seconddivision 2 of the face is square, or at right angles, and so as toengage in one of the notches of the ratchet, and rigidly engage thesocket and crank, so that the socket and crank will turn together as onein both directions. The third portion 3 is the reverse of the first, sothat the brace will turn free to the right and engage the socket whenturned to the left; but the 0I'd61\. of these surfaces may be changedwithout in any sense changing this invention. The adjustment from onesection to the other is made by simply raising or lowering the pawl, asindicated in broken lines, Fig. 2.

I claim The combination, in a bit-brace, of the crank and socket, thesocket hung in a bearing in the head 0 of the crank, so as to turnfreely therein, the ratchet E, in connection with or apart of the saidsocket, and the adjustable pawl F, hung in the said head, and relativelyto the ratchet E, and constructed with the three Working surfaces, onefor turning the socket to the right, another for turning the socket tothe left, and a thirdfor rigidly engaging the crank and socket,substantially as described.

Y FRANK P. PFLEGHAR. Witnesses: 7

JOHN E. EARLE, CLARA BROUGHTON.

